Mattel puts Ken/Barbie fate to the vote

Barbie and Ken split on Valentine's Day 2004 after 43 years together, and now the public is being asked to weigh in on whether they should give it another go.

After the big break-up, Barbie began a dalliance with an Australian surfer dude-doll called Blaine and Ken dumped his role as Barbie's eternal sidekick and "stepped out in a big way," Mattel says on the Facebook page for the two dolls.

Ken recently won critical acclaim for his role in Toy Story 3, and also made appearances at Fashion Week in New York.

"Having explored the singles scene after his starring role in Toy Story 3, Ken now knows Barbie is the only doll for him," Mattel said in a statement.

Advertising on billboards in New York and Los Angeles, has Ken declaring his love. One of them reads: "Barbie, We May Be Plastic But Our Love is Real."

Mattel is now asking fans of the two dolls, to vote on either doll's Facebook page or on www.barbieandken.com to determine if they should get back together.

Ken reportedly wants to win back Barbie by Valentine's Day, in a week's time. The Love-o-Meter on the site is currently swinging just past "It's complicated" towards "Give him a chance".